50mm lens choice madness..FE 55, Rokinon, Canon FD L, Mitak

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

Hello!

I have been thinking about the Rokinon 50mm 1.4 as an upgrade to my current FD 50mm 1.4 with my Sony A7ii.
While this FD is the sharpest 50mm I have gotten at 1.4 after many tests, its still is a bit too glowy for my taste when I want to do a 1.4 environmental portrait.

The choices are a LOT though.

First I thought about the FD 50mm 1.2L as well. For me the L lenses have that allure to them and I love FD lenses for the most part (all but one lens I own are FD lenses).
Still the 1.2L seems pretty glowy as well and CA plus bad corners.

Then we got something like the Mitakon 50mm .95 which has that crazy aperture which could be fun and I am assuming at 1.2, 1.4 it should be pretty sharp hopefully. A lot more money though.

Then we also have something like the Sony FE 55mm 1.8 (not really manual lens sorry) which is a lot more money but people claim is as sharp as it gets for lenses....but somehow paying so much for such a slow 50mm (slow in the 50mm world that is), just seems wrong to me unless it is REALLY that good. Would love to see it side by side vs the Rokinon and Mitakon, etc at the same apertures and comparing Bokeh like .95 vs 1.2 vs 1.8

The main issue I have with the Rokinon is that there are some awesome reviews that show it comparing and even beating lenses like the FD 50mm 1.2L and similar and then the are some like that basically consider it to be good/average but nothing special.

Please comment

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That glow is spherical aberration. All lenses have it to some degree, particularly fast ones. If you want to reduce it, just close the aperture one stop.

Otherwise, go see your bank manager and ask for a loan to buy one of the Leica Aspherical lenses.

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

tb_a · Expire: 2019-08-28

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

Another lens to the mix Very Happy

I will research that one too. A local is selling the Rokinon about 2 hours away so I may drive there to take a few samples images to see how it compares to my FD. The curse of pixel peepers!

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I forgot about the Nokton. Smile

Fast and without glow is not possible without aspherical surfaces and exotic glass types.

Also, glass condition is critical with older lenses, dust, fungus, cleaning marks, all can contribute to glow.

My Sonnar 1.5/50 has lots of glow wide open, despite perfect glass; however, close it one stop and the level of SA is reduced dramatically and hence the glow gets a lot less.

Hence I say closing the lens one stop is the way to combat excessive glow.

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

WannbeTilt · Joined: 01 May 2013 Posts: 11 Location: London, UK

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

WannbeTilt · Joined: 01 May 2013 Posts: 11 Location: London, UK

shaolin95 · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 75

Langstrum · Joined: 16 Feb 2014 Posts: 351

I did a comparison of FD 50/1.2 L with Sony SEL 50/1.8 OSS (which is almost as sharp as the FE 55mm) and I found that my FD is equally sharp at f/1.8, even though CA is quite worse. Wide open shots are the most acceptable ones among other 50/1.2 lenses that I've tried and actually the glowing effect is good for portrait, it makes the skin appears to be smoother. I got mine for about $400 and I think that is an rather good price. The main thing to consider getting this one or the FE 55mm is the autofocus, I think, so I don't buy the FE 55, just save it for a faster FE lenses in the future.

You can find that comparison in my album
https://www.flickr.com/photos/langstrum/albums/72157647047260934

WannbeTilt · Joined: 01 May 2013 Posts: 11 Location: London, UK

Mr G · Joined: 27 Jan 2014 Posts: 187 Location: London & Essex

Hi guys, I thought Canon made a 55mm f1.2 ssc aspherical, I maybe wrong and they probably go for serious money!